Initially the company produced American Curtiss-Wright aircraft engines under license along with ammunition, bicycles, spindles and refrigerators.

In 1949, an agreement was reached with the Italian manufacturer Isotta Fraschini, whereby FNM would produce the Milanese company's heavy trucks under license.

Isotta Fraschini commercial vehicles enjoyed an excellent reputation at this time, but the Italian company was already economically troubled, although its formal bankruptcy would be put off till the end of 1951.

Unusually in Europe, Alfa Romeo was (like FNM) a state owned business, following bankruptcy and a government rescue in the 1930s.

[4] The Matarazzo Group backed out in 1958, following troubled discussions about the suitability of building luxurious cars in poor Brazil.

The engine was the same 1,975 cc twin camshaft unit found in the Italian product, but detuned to produce only 95 PS (70 kW) and the car received the FNM logo.

The TIMB also featured a flat bonnet with a lower-mounted grille, as suggested by Lincoln Tendler aiming a better aerodynamic penetration, and a divided front bumper to accommodate the lower centerpiece.

For this application the twin camshaft four cylinder engine saw its capacity increased to 2132 cc, and performance was further enhanced through the installation of a better set of carburetors.

[8][9] Only a few hand built examples were produced, but the stylish coupé may have helped the public image of the by now aging design of the mainstream FNM 2150.

Alfa Romeo faced difficulties in Europe during the late 1970s and early 1980s, coming under increasing commercial pressure from the three largest German up-market auto producers (BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi), even in Italy.

Objective financial data concerning nationalized businesses are seldom published, but Alfa Romeo is believed to have operated at a substantial loss for much of its time under state control: in 1986, Romano Prodi who was at the time chairman of the IRI (the government body responsible for nationalised industries in Italy), wishing to reduce the losses of the IRI, transferred Alfa Romeo to the private sector, which in Italy's mass market automobile business meant at this time Fiat.